1. Field of Invention
The present invention is an interactive card based gaming system and method. More particularly, the invention is an interactive twenty-one game in which a player is awarded a prize for having a winning hand according to a paytable.
2. Background
Traditional Blackjack is a table game in which the table seats a dealer and one to seven players. A betting square is printed on the felt table in front of each player seat. To the left of the dealer is a deck of cards or a shoe. Play begins after the dealer shuffles the cards, the deck is “cut” by a player using the marker card, and the dealer “burns” a card. Before any cards are dealt, each of the players may make a wager by placing the desired chips (value and number) near the betting square.
Once all the bets are placed, two cards are dealt from left to right one at a time. The dealer receives one card down and one card up. The Kings, Queens and Jacks count as 10 points, the Aces count as either 11 or 1 point, and the remaining cards have a point value that corresponds to their face value.
The rules the dealer must play by are very simple. If the dealer's hand is 16 or less, the dealer must take a card. If the dealer's hand is 17 or more, the dealer must stand. The dealer's strategy for hitting or standing is fixed and the dealer's strategy is not affected by the actions of the players.
The player has many options as related to hitting or standing. If a player hits a Blackjack, the payoff is 150% more than the original bet. Additionally, the player has the option of “doubling down” on a 2-card hand that usually totals 9, 10, or 11. In addition to “doubling down” the player is permitted to split a hand and to obtain insurance. Note, that the rules for Blackjack differ slightly from casino to casino.
Blackjack may also be played on an electronic device. The electronic device mimics the table game by providing one or more betting squares and simulating the shuffling and dealing of the cards. Additionally, during a game of “video” Blackjack the player is provided with an opportunity to make an initial game wager, and hit or stand with cards dealt from the dealer.
In spite of the random nature of the card dealing process, the game of Blackjack is viewed by many players as a game of skill. For purposes of this patent, “player skill” includes three components: minimal skill, dexterity skill, and knowledge skill. Generally, all games include these components, however, the degree of skill varies for each game. Minimal skill requires a minimal understanding of the rules of the game and minimal dexterity needed to apply the rules of the game. To play a game according to the game rules, the player must possess minimal skill.
By way of example and not of limitation, a lottery game is a game that in principle only requires minimal skill. The minimal skill is the selection of numbers from a card having a plurality of numbers within. The correct amount of numbers must be identified before the lottery drawing. The game outcome is theoretically random so little or no dexterity skill or knowledge skill is used. Other games that theoretically rely on random events include traditional keno and stand-alone slot machines.
Dexterity skill is based on the player's reflexes or coordination. Most games require a degree of dexterity to establish game play. Certain games such as arcade video games or pinball machines are primarily dexterity based skill games. For example, in the well- known “Pong” video game, the player removes bricks from a wall by causing a ball to “hit” the brick with a player controlled paddle. Dexterity skill is needed to ensure that the ball strikes the paddle so that the player may continue playing the game. The objective during game play is to generate as many points as possible, and this objective is generally achieved by playing the game as long as possible.
Knowledge skill is based on the player's experience and analytical abilities. Most games require a degree of knowledge skill during game play. For example, the Pong game described above requires a certain amount of knowledge skill in anticipating how the ball will bounce off the brick wall. However, this level of knowledge is minimal when compared to the level of dexterity skill.
An illustrative example of a casino-type game that uses knowledge skill is a standard video poker game of Jack or Better. In this video poker game a player is provided with a choice of which cards to hold and which cards to discard in exchange for newer cards. The optimum choice made by the player is dependent on the paytable for the video poker game. For illustrative purposes, with a paytable that pays a Royal Flush 800, a Straight Flush 50, Four of a Kind 25, a Full House 9, a Flush 6, a Straight 4, Three of a Kind 3, Two Pair 2 and a Pair of Jacks or Better 1, the player has a theoretical optimum return of 99.5%. Thus, if a player starts with a $20 bill, and wagers $1 at a rate of six games per minute, this loss rate is $1.80 per hour and on average the player could play for 11 hours before consuming all the playing funds. In the illustrative example of the standard video poker machine, the knowledge skill used by the player is dependent on the amount wagered, the cards initially dealt to the player, the cards discarded by the player, the new cards provided to the player and the paytable for compensating the player. During the game session, the player attempts to optimize his/her award according to the paytable. Since the optimal player outcome is dependent on the paytable, a “knowledgeable” player's decision will be highly dependent on the paytable. The paytable provided in the illustrative standard video poker machine is a static paytable. A static paytable does not change during game play and provides a fixed award for each award event.
It shall be appreciated by player experienced in Blackjack that the traditional Blackjack game and the video Blackjack version requires a heightened level of knowledge based skill similar to the video poker game described above. The player has the opportunity to apply a variety of different strategies to maximize winnings and minimize losses.